MADISON

Charter School Application

Madison Parish School Board 2019 District Charter School Application Process
for Schools Opening in the 2019-2020 School Year or Beyond

Forms and Information Needed for Submission of a Type 1 or Type 3 Charter School Proposal

In compliance with R.S. 17:3982, the Madison Parish School Board is making public through our website, and in printed form upon request, the guidelines for submitting a charter proposal, all forms required for submission of a charter proposal, the timelines established for accepting and reviewing charter proposals, the process that will be used to review charter proposals submitted to the board, and the name and contact information for a primary point of contact for charter proposals.

Madison Parish School Board Guidelines and Required Forms and Documentation for Submission of a Type 1 or Type 3 Charter School Proposal:

I. Charter School Application

II. Charter School Process Schedule

III. Charter Application Review Process

IV. Charter School Contact Information

See the requirements for each section below.

I. Charter School Application

Applicants must follow the instructions below and provide the requested information and documents provided in this section below in order to submit and complete Type 1 or Type 3 district charter school application:

A. Notice of Intent

Potential Charter School Applicants must notify the Madison Parish School Board by sending on letterhead a signed statement indicating their intent to submit a charter school application. The letter must clearly provide the name of the person making the notification with contact information, including phone number and email address.

A seperate notice must be provided for each potential application that will be submitted and may be made by or on-behalf-of the person or entity who will be submitting the application. The content of the notice is non-binding on any parties, and does not prevent any applicant from submitting an application by the charter school application due date below. The notice must be sent via certified mail no later than February 15, 2019 to:

Applicants should complete the 2019 Common Charter School Application found here.

The common application requires applicants to complete five sets of documents – a charter proposal written in response to the questions posed in the common application, a finances template, an eligibility form, background check forms, and an overview template. Links to the last four sets of documents are embedded within the common charter application.

Prior to applying for a Type 3 charter school, which proposes to be a school converted from a prexisting public school to a charter school, the Madison Parish School Board requires an applicant to receive a majority approval from the eligible professional faculty and staff of the preexisting school and the parents or guardians of children enrolled in the school.

All staff votes for converting a traditional public school to a charter school should be transparent and fair with full disclosure of charter school structure to eligible voting staff and should accurately represent the opinion of such staff. The Department of Education has developed the following model process the School Board requires of all groups interested in applying for a Type 3 charter school. The model process respects the fact that every community is different and that local groups should be empowered to customize the process in a way that works for their community, assuming it meets the basic criteria for a fair and open process.

A summary of the final results of each survey and detailed description of the process and timeline by which the surveys were conducted are required to be provided with the submission of a Type 3 Charter Application.

February 15, 2019: Notice of Intent to Apply due (Item A in Section I above).Letter must be received from applicants no later than Friday, February 15, 2019 via certified mail to:

Madison Parish School Board

Attn: Benita Young, Superintendent

301 South Chestnut Street

Tallulah, LA 71282

March 1, 2019: Charter Applications due. Applicants should email the five required sets of documents (includes all required information requested in items B, C, and D in Section I above) no later than Friday, March 1, 2019 to:

Madison Parish School Board

Attn: Benita Young, Superintendent

301 South Chestnut Street

Tallulah, LA 71282

email: benita.young@madisonpsb.org

June 7, 2019: Last day for Madison Parish School Board to make decisions in an open meeting to approve or deny charter applications.

III. Application Review Process

All charter applications will be reviewed by an independent evaluator with educational, organizational, legal, and financial expertise. Applicants will have the opportunity to provide to the evaluator a written response to the independent evaluation of their charter application before the evaluator provides a final recommendation to Madison Parish School Board.

IV. Charter School Contact Information

Individuals or organizations with questions about the district's charter application process should contact: